Health care is hot topic for talks here in my home Illinois District Monday Afternoon

This was the local townhall meeting here in my district known as the Illinois 10th congressional yesterday that for the most part was not very newsworthy other than so many people showed up that a second one has been scheduled which I will myself attend as soon as the details are released..

The timing of the meeting was somewhat strange considering it's daytime scheduling, which obviously prevented most day working men and women from attending, and I do hope that the next one is scheduled for the evening allowing those who couldn't attend this one to attend the next.

This was also the likely reason so many Obamanites actually attended this one (lol) according to one friend there, who said the crowd disbursement was nearly equal between those for and against the Obamacare plan

Here's a youtube of the event from the outside as these were the folks that couldn't fit inside the small room which was chosen for the meeting for whatever the logistical reasons were......

Here are some pix of the cramped indoor meeting, which
emonstrate the ridiculously tiny room chosen for the event

And the smaller crowd as opposed to the seemingly larger crowd
who couldn't cram into the obviously already tiny room ...

I had twice as many people in most of my college classes and lecture halls than were able to squeeze in there yesterday (well close at least ;) .. as I said a second meeting has supposedly being scheduled and we'll be at that one if we can

chicagotribune.com:An Arlington Heights town hall meeting on health-care reform led to impassioned debate Monday afternoon, with overflow crowds chanting, carrying signs and forcing a second meeting.

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) added the second session after about 800 people -- on all sides of the debate -- showed up to voice their opinions.

Similar town hall meetings on health care have drawn large and vocal crowds across the country in recent weeks. In Arlington Heights, those at Monday's meeting alternately cheered, booed and applauded -- but stayed mostly civil during the question-and-answer session. Those left outside during the first meeting chanted competing slogans, holding signs such as, "Tort reform, insurer choice" and "Health care for all."

Parts of Sigwalt Street at Arlington Heights Road were closed about 2:30 p.m. to "mitigate traffic flow" during the meetings, Police Capt. Nick Pecora. He said building access for everyone except those there for village business was denied starting about 2:15 p.m. -- 45 minutes before the meeting began.

Brian Dvoret of Wheeling, who attended the first session, said he is unemployed and spends $1,000 a month to insure his family.

Dvoret supports a public option and would like to buy into a group health plan.

"The health insurance companies are ripping us off," he said. "I'm not for saying other taxpayers need to support my bill. I don't want that. I want the ability of equal competition."

Others such as Alan Minoff of Wilmette said they opposed the Obama administration's health-care reform proposal and wanted lawmakers to slow down and reassess the plan.

"There are other programs proposed by Republicans, which are very, very different ideas to reform health care," he said before the meeting. "It's not a rush."

This Congressman Lamar Smith (R-San Antonio) Townhall meeting wasn't quite as peaceful as the local one, as what at times had been a rowdy and loud crowd was also a largely civil crowd only shouting down each other at a few times, that was until the end of the meeting.



Read about the fight that took place here if you wish to...

Related articles

• Obama's health plan is tough on the middle class (money.cnn.com)
• The Cost of Not Having a Public Option (dailykos.com)
• Health Reform Fattens Big Insurance and Taxes the Young (health.usnews.com)
• Beth Coulson Set To Run For Mark Kirk's Congressional Seat (huffingtonpost.com)

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